Public Domain
Gulliver's Travels
1939 · Fleischer Studios / Paramount Pictures · Dir. Dave Fleischer
Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The 1939 animated feature film 'Gulliver's Travels' is a well-documented case of a major motion picture entering the public domain due to a failure to renew the copyright. The film was originally registered for US copyright by Paramount Pictures on December 20, 1939 (LP9320). Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a manual renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the initial term to extend protection to a second term.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals that no renewal was filed for this film during its renewal window (1966–1967). This lack of renewal is cited by film historians and legal researchers (such as those at the Hollywood Film Archive's 'Film Superlist') as the reason the film fell into the US public domain in 1967. Consequently, the film has been widely distributed on home video by numerous public domain labels (e.g., Alpha Video, Mill Creek) and is hosted on the Internet Archive without restriction.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- U Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE)
- Hurst / D. Richard Baer, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1939-1959)
- Library of Congress (LP9320)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.